In the Dark
by StarfireFowl
Summary: The mission was never supposed to end like this. They weren't cowards. Inspired by Fall Out Boy's "The Take Over, the Break's Over"


A/N: Another Alice and Frank one, inspired by Fall Out Boy's "The Take Over, the Break's Over".

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Frank hates assignments like these. The weather is utter crap- rain is drenching his clothes as he tries to open the door to the house and every roll of thunder makes him jump. He hates going through someone else's home, looking for survivors of attacks. At least he gets one ray of sunshine on these gray days.

Alice Letham, in all her beauty, is assigned as his partner this time around. He's worked with her before and every time he finds himself admiring her vibrant blonde curls and her cheerful smile that stays on her face no matter what goes wrong. He tries to flirt with her every time he's near her, but it seems almost impossible. She laughs it off and just shakes her head every time.

He finds himself watching her now as she blasts the door open with her wand. She's got strength, he'll admit, but it's a surprise. She just doesn't seem the type to be able to blast someone with hex and send them flying across the room. Frank hurries to her side, thankful to be out of the rain and with someone who will ensure their safety.

It's then that he notices how close he's standing to Alice in the door frame. His eyes are on her pale face and the blonde strands of hair matted to it. Instinctively, he reaches up and brushes them away. Her eyes widen and a bit of laughter appear in them, but she says nothing. Instead, she moves out of the doorway and begins to explore the house. He does the same, only a bit discouraged.

Frank takes the upstairs of the house. Death Eaters have obviously just left. He can tell by the way the smell of death and decay haven't taken over the house yet and by the way no one else is there scavenging through the rubbish.

"Frank!" Alice screams from downstairs. His legs take off before his mind can process. It is something they test for in aspiring aurors. His mum has always called it his auror instinct.

Frank finds Alice in the area that used to be the kitchen. Pots and pans are everywhere. He almost steps on a strainer that's snapped in two. Among the pans is the body of a young man. There's no blood on him at all. The cadaver's eyes are open and absolutely terrified.

"You all right?" Frank asks Alice. She shakes her head from side t o side. He doesn't know whether to give her a hug or to check the body for any other clues. The first option sounds promising, but it's the second he goes with.

"They got him with the killing curse," Frank mutters as he examines the young man's face. It's then that he recognizes it. "Bloody hell. That's Caradoc Dearborn, isn't it?"

"Yes," Alice chokes. He now knows why Alice called for him. They had gone to school with Caradoc. He had been a member of the Order with them. And now he was dead- another victim of the war. "Why would Dumbledore send us here?"

"Maybe he wanted us to help Caradoc fight the Death Eaters? I don't know really, Alice, but I do know we arrived too late to help him at all." Frank sighs, getting up off the floor. He pauses for a moment in his ascent, listening.

"What do you think the Dark Lord wants in the half-blood's belongings?" A high pitched and terrifying voice asks. Alice and Frank exchange glances. She searches the kitchen for somewhere to escape, her eyes stopping on a door.

"In there," Alice whispers, darting to the door. Frank follows. As luck would have it, it's a very dark, cramped pantry. Their bodies are ridiculously close together, but they're both too scared to care. The voices are somewhere else in the house, causing each to breathe a sigh of relief.

"What the hell are they doing back here?" Alice groans, tying her hair back. Her elbow hits Frank in the shoulder, but he says nothing. "I don't have enough training to take on all those Death Eaters. It sounds like there are at least four of them out there."

Even in the darkness, Frank can see the pure fear in her eyes. He goes with his instincts and puts his arms around her waist. She doesn't hit him or yell, as he was expecting. Instead, she leans back into his touch. She lets out a deep sigh as her hands touch his.

"Don't worry," he whispers in her ear. IT's then that the footsteps draw closer, as do the voices.

"Here's the half-blood now," the shrill voice cackles. There's a loud thud, like someone kicked the corpse. Alice flinches in his arms, but he holds her tighter than ever.

"The Dark Lord is on his way. He decided that it was a matter worthy of his presence." A deeper, scarier voice booms. A spell is cast softly and both can hear the familiar crack of a disapparation. All movement seems to stop outside of the pantry. The terror that fills the air makes a shiver run down Alice's spine.

"Fuck. He-who-must-not-be-named is coming _here_. Right now. We're going to die. We're going to die and I haven't even gotten to tell you that I'm greatly enjoying you holding me like this." Alice says every word so fast that Frank almost misses her words.

"You've told me now." He smirks. "Why have you always turned me down then?"

"Dating a co-worker isn't exactly proper. But seeing as how we're about to die as heroes and all, now seems like the time to tell you that I've got an extremely embarrassing crush on you. Evans makes fun of me for it all the time." Her cheeks are burning. Never before in her life has she been so thankful to be in the dark. She's smiling though, and she knows he is too. She can feel Frank's breath on her neck. Her brain is begging her to turn around and kiss him, but she knows he's got something to say first.

"No worries. I'm not going to let anyone kill you," he assures her. He is amazed by what his words trigger in Alice. She spins herself around and shoves her lips onto his. Her tongue's at his lips before he can even register the fact that they are kissing in a dead man's food pantry. He lets her proceed, his own tongue practically fighting hers. Warm and unfamiliar hands have found their way to the small of her back, pulling him closer to her. He pulls her with him so that he can rest against the back of the door.

As terrified as Alice is at the thought of Voldemort coming for her, she lets herself go further. Her mouth is gently on his neck while his hands are under her shirt. There's no sign of Voldemort or Death Eaters anywhere. They continue.

Alice tugs his shirt off faster than she can think. She wants to do more, but he's concentrating too much on getting her shirt off. She silently curses herself for wearing a button down. They take much too long to get off. He eventually gives up and just pulls the rest of the buttons apart. The second it's off, he kisses her neck all the way down to her stomach. She feels her heart flip.

"We should get out of here," Alice says quietly. Frank looks confused, so she elaborates." Voldemort's on his way with Death Eaters. We can either stay here, fighting to the death, or we can go back to my apartment and be happy cowards."

"What about the mission? Can you imagine Dumbledore's face..." Frank trails off, looking up at her with his dark eyes sparkling.

"Screw it. I want you, Frank Longbottom."

"Fine with me." Frank grins. She kisses his lips fiercely, holding onto him tightly as she apparates them to her apartment. She hates that she's abandoning a mission, but this is worth it for her. Finally getting to be with the guy she's been pretending to avoid and to be out of danger is worth the little bit of shame she'll feel later from Dumbledore.

They say nothing to each other. She leads him through the dark to her bedroom, pulling him down onto her bed. Her mouth is still on his. Neither have done anything like this before, but both have the feeling that they're doing something right.

She's the one who makes the first move towards what they're both thinking. Her hands wander down to his zipper and she unzips and pulls off his pants. He does the same for her, not believing this is happening just yet. It doesn't seem real.

Alice's hands rub his stomach gently for a few seconds, placing delicate kisses on his shoulder. She's amazed by his strength – his arms are holding him above her, shaking from the feelings and his weight. They're both down to only their underwear, Frank with his gray boxers and her with her matching blue set. He moves to lie beside her and stare for a few minutes. His hands trace over the curve of her hips and up to her bra strap. Alice feels a bit of panic sinking in. No one had ever seen beneath it before.

"Is- is this okay?" Alice asks, tugging a bit at the waistband of his boxers. Frank doesn't say anything, but she knows it is. She kisses his lips once before pulling off his boxers completely. Only then does he unhook her bra. She almost cringes when it happens, but then she sees him smile at the sight. He notices her reactions too, kissing her shoulder and downwards.

Alice runs a hand through his hair, entangling her fingers in the brown locks. Frank kisses her stomach once before replacing his lips with his hands. Her underwear is removed in seconds. Both look at each other, smiling, before Frank moves to straddle her. He pushes inside of her, her arms wrapping around him and pulling him in further. This is everything either of them has ever wanted.

He eventually collapses into her arms, the two falling asleep with their limbs intertwined. The morning brings them back to reality. They are summoned to Dumbledore to attempt to explain what happened. Neither can keep the truth from the wise, old man so they tell everything. He gives them his usual smile, allowing them to see their wrongs for themselves. Because of their foolishness, Caradoc's body is missing and several Death Eaters and the Dark Lord are allowed to keep on killing. However, both are truly alive for the first time in ages.

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A/N 2: Reviews are love, as are constructive criticisms. Flames will be discarded.


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